25th Anniversary International Symposium

To commemorate the 25th anniversary of its establishment in 1998, the Art Research Center (ARC), Ritsumeikan University, held an international symposium on September 30, 2023 under the theme Liberal Arts Innovation in Digital Humanities and Digital Archives--Exploring Further Possibilities. The event was held in a hybrid format.

Event Overview:

The Art Research Center (ARC), Ritsumeikan University, is marking the 25th anniversary of its establishment in 2023. As a center of arts and culture research at Ritsumeikan University in the academic metropolis of Kyoto, the ARC has since its establishment pursued new research utilizing digital technologies. This kind of research based on digital technology research methods came to be called Digital Humanities (DH) and has attracted attention as the most advanced field in humanities research. As a result, the role of the ARC continues to grow in importance, and the Center has gained traction as a driving force in Digital Humanities both in Japan and overseas.

Further, the digital environment, the foundation of Digital Humanities, is built on digital archives. Designated by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) as an International Joint Usage / Research Center, the ARC has taken on many research projects from abroad in its capacity as the International Joint Digital Archiving Center for Japanese Art & Culture (ARC-iJAC), thus strengthening its research activities.

The digital archives, in which the ARC has accumulated research focusing on Japanese traditional culture over the past 25 years, have been interlinked with the open archives of other institutions and continue to form part of the big data of Japanese cultural resources. Furthermore, as seen in the rapid spread of the Metaverse and Generative AI research, in the current present in which humans are beginning to open up digital space as another area for engagement, this kind of big data of cultural resources is not only expected to become a source for specialist academic research but also a digital resource common to all humankind that shall be more open for social use.

The horizons of digital humanities, opened up by digital archives, bring new societal reforms and expansions that should be called "public humanities". On the occasion of this 25th anniversary, we are holding a commemorative international symposium: inviting guests who have provided valuable advice for the Center's activities to discuss the Center's achievements and future direction while further promoting cooperation with related institutions and researchers in Japan and abroad.

Speakers:
　Ryo AKAMA (Professor, College of Letters, Ritsumeikan University/Director of the ARC)
　Akihiko TAKANO (Visiting Research Professor, Kinugasa Research Organization, Ritsumeikan University)
　Shigeo SUGIMOTO（Professor Emeritus, University of Tsukuba)
　Graeme EARL（Professor & Head of College, SOAS University of London)
　Koichi HOSOI (Professor, College of Image Arts and Sciences, Ritsumeikan University/Deputy Director of the ARC)
　【Moderator】Travis Seifman（Research Manager of the ARC, Ritsumeikan University)

＞＞Program

　＞＞Website of the Ritsumeikan University Saturday Seminar Series